A comparative overview of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern

Abstract

In December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread to practically every corner of the globe, killing millions of people. SARS-CoV-2 produced numerous variants, five of which have been identified as variants of concern (VOC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron). We conducted a comparative epidemiological analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and its VOC in this paper. We compared the effects of vari-ous spike (S) protein mutations in SARS-CoV-2 and its VOC on transmissibility, illness severity, hospitaliza-tion risk, fatality rate, immunological evasion, and vaccine efficacy in this review. We also looked into the clinical characteristics of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and its VOC.